Saving the Inner Self
by Koyoru
Summary: When on a mission, the Konoha ninja meet up with 2 teams from an unheard of organization. Each person has goals much like the Konoha ninja, except for one. “Hinata has changed and made a promise to a dear friend. Hinata mustn’t be weak, she must be strong
1. Meeting the Team

Saving The Inner Self  
  
Chapter One: Meeting the Team  
  
Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke and Kakashi headed towards the sound of fighting. Kakashi had been hearing it for a while now and told the others they were going to check it out. The continued flying through the trees until they came to a clearing, once there, they quietly made themselves somewhat invisible.  
  
"Boys we have visitors." Said a tall man wearing a hitai-ate around his forehead as most shinobi do. The symbol on his hitai-ate was on they'd never seen before, it was like a swirl with two dots in the middle of the swirls. Almost like a yin yang sign except the swirls were spread out and had a line through them. His blonde hair was rather wild and stood up in a gravity defying hair-do and his orange eyes made him look deadly. He wore an outfit much like Kakashi's except his shirt was black; the vest was almost identical and green. His pants were long and also green, except a much darker green than his vest.  
  
"All right...so?" asked the first boy, he had brown hair streaked with red and had several bangs hanging into his red-brown eyes. He had an identical T-shirt to Sasuke's and baggy white shorts. He wore fingerless, black, gloves with his symbol engraved into the metal part. His hitai-ate was around his left thigh.  
  
"Are they unwanted?" asked the second boy. He had light blue hair that fell just below his ears. It lay flat against his head and his part was almost un-seeable. His eyes were a welcoming sea blue colour. He wore a black, long-sleeved, turtleneck under an open vest. His vest didn't have the big shoulder pads like his teachers. His pants were long and light blue, they looked airy and comfortable. His hitai-ate was worn around his right upper arm.  
  
"I do not know." Said the man slowly. "Why don't you ask them?"  
  
"Be my guest." Said the blue haired boy.  
  
"Heh, why thank you, Neo." The brown haired boy threw kunai straight at Kakashi, Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke causing them to jump into the air so they could avoid the daggers. "Aww...they're just Konohagakure ninja." Whined the brown haired boy. "What a waste of kunai." He mumbled.  
  
"Still, we should welcome them." Said the boy identified as Neo. His soft blue eyes stared at the four. "Welcome Konoha ninja." He said smiling warmly. He bowed deeply and looked to his comrade.  
  
"Yes, you know, Kyoji, it is good to be polite. Welcome Konoha ninja." Said the tall man bowing not as deeply as Neo, but it still gave off a warm gesture.  
  
"Fine, fine, you win Koei-sensei." Pouted the boy identified as Kyoji. "Welcome strangers." He said bowing slightly.  
  
"Thank you." Said Kakashi bowing his head a little as well. "May I ask where you are from?" he asked cautiously.  
  
"Meh, you could but you wouldn't get an answer." Said Kyoji shrugging and trying to pull his kunai out of the tree. 'How had he gotten over there so quickly?' Sasuke wondered.  
  
"You should really be more polite Kyoji. Master Koei, should I go get Aya?" asked Neo softly.  
  
"No, she is meditating. I do not wish to disturb her until it is time." Answered the teacher identified as Koei.  
  
"So we gonna talk to these creeps now that we've acknowledged them?" asked Kyoji loudly. He was once again beside his teacher.  
  
"What makes you think we're creeps?" asked Sakura with a tint of irritation.  
  
"Well, you were spying on us." Kyoji said looking thoughtful. "And you came from the Hidden Village with the ill-mannered, irrational ninja guys." Said Kyoji smirking at her obvious anger.  
  
"Our ninja are not ill-mannered." Shouted Sakura while Inner Sakura yelled [Let me at him! I'll tear him to pieces. How dare he call our ninja ill mannered and irrational!]  
  
"Then you obviously don't know them very well." Kyoji said winking at her causing her to blush.  
  
"Oh get off their backs." Neo said butting in. He could see the anger rising in Sasuke and Naruto's eyes. "They don't seem to know about those ninja so just give them a break." He added defensively.  
  
"So now you're taking the side of the Konoha strangers?" asked Kyoji inquisitively.  
  
"No, I'm clearly stating that you don't know a thing about them so don't be so quick to judge." Neo said politely. This ninja was one that would probably never stop smiling or never stop being polite.  
  
"Uh-huh..." Kyoji said with a raised eyebrow.  
  
"Boys, we can get to know the Konoha ninja later, right now Aya is ready." Koei said advisingly.  
  
"Alright!" Kyoji said punching the air. "Now you'll see a real ninja fight Konoha losers!"  
  
Neo pulled out a shuriken and looked towards Kyoji. "Let's go." He said, suddenly dead serious.  
  
Kyoji nodded and the two threw their shuriken at what looked like nothing until their shurikens bounced off an invisible shield. Then the fight began. The two began pounding at the invisible force until it seemed to shatter and they saw a girl sitting in the air with her legs crossed. Her head was bowed and her hands were closed together with her index fingers and middle fingers pointing up. She wore the same kind of fingerless gloves as Kyoji. She wore the same coat as Shino beige and looked to be a size too big. Her pants were tight black shorts. From her knees down were wrapped in bandages and her hitai-ate could be seen on her right upper arm. She had black-purple hair tied up in a high ponytail and even in the ponytail it flowed down to her shoulder blades. As soon as the force field shattered, the girls' eyes snapped open to reveal two bright green orbs and she stepped down onto the ground. The two boys were now tired from trying to break the shield which gave this girl an incredible advantage.  
  
"Ready?" she whispered softly. "To lose?" she smirked as they attacked shouting loudly to feel more powerful.  
  
She dodged their attacks easily and after each of them made an attempt to attack her she would hit a chakra hole and close it while at the same time injuring them. When Neo finally hit her, she stumbled a bit before turning her swagger into an attack and repelled Kyoji into a large tree as she swung her arms and released a high amount of chakra. Neo looked at her viciously and lunged. Aya jumped into the air then jumped off Neo's back driving him into the ground and sending her flying at a recovering Kyoji. Aya was too fast though and elbowed Kyoji in the stomach sending him flying again. The two finally gave up and sauntered over to their teacher.  
  
"Well, that wasn't excellent, but it was better than the last time. Congratulations Aya, you're getting better but you still haven't perfected your dodging. Keep practicing." He said to them as the two boys sat on the ground panting heavily while the girl, Aya, stood up straight, nodded and bowed. She then started to walk away.  
  
"Hey wait a minute. Where are you going?" Asked Naruto loudly.  
  
Aya gave him a side-glance and shook her head. "Naruto, even though you're the strongest on your team, you're very stupid." And with that being said in her calm voice, she kept walking.  
  
"Hey! How did she know my name?" Naruto asked loudly.  
  
Kyoji opened his mouth to answer but then shut it and put on a thinking pose. When he finally did answer, his information wasn't very informative. "Don't know." He said shrugging.  
  
"You must've met her some time ago, Aya remembers everyone and everything." Neo added thoughtfully.  
  
"I don't remember no girl like her." Naruto stated confidently.  
  
"Your memory skills aren't the greatest anyway Naruto." Sakura said while sweat dropping.  
  
"HEY!" Naruto shouted as everyone started to laugh.  
  
Somewhere near by, something rustled in the bushes. Out of nowhere a kunai shot at the rustling sound and 12 ninja jumped out of the bushes.  
  
"What business do you lowlife have here?" Came Aya's voice sounding distant and echoing.  
  
"Now, now Aya be nice." Koei said to the air.  
  
"Aww man! More Konoha ninja?" Kyoji said looking disappointed.  
  
"HEY!!! It's Gai's team, Kurenai's team and Asuma's team!" Naruto said bouncing up to them.  
  
"It's been a while." Said Neji loftily.  
  
"Oh well, they're no threat anyway." Said Aya's voice. "Even Kyoji could take them all on." Aya added smugly.  
  
"Really?" asked Kyoji astounded. "Wait a minute. That was a diss!" He shouted loudly. "Aya get your ass down here so I can kick it!"  
  
"I think not. I'm going down to the river to think about something." Aya said as her voice faded.  
  
"More like someone. You're going to think about your boyfriend that you've never told us about, right!?" Kyoji shouted smirking.  
  
"No, I do believe she was talking about me." Said a new voice. "Aya dear, I'll be waiting for you by the cliff that you love so much." Said the male voice.  
  
"NAGO YOU BASTARD!!! I'LL KILL YOU!!!" Aya shouted, her calm collected manner gone entirely. The others could hear the rustling of leaves as she ran through the forest.  
  
"Master Koei what do we do?" Neo asked worried.  
  
"FIND HER!!!" shouted Koei angrily. "If she gets attacked now she may die! She used up too much chakra when she threw Kyoji into the tree." He added.  
  
Kyoji, Neo and Koei all vanished by using a teleportation technique. Leaving the others there without a clue as to where they should run.  
  
"Follow the sound of water." Hinata said softly.  
  
"Akamaru and I'll sniff them out!" Kiba offered as Akamaru barked in agreement.  
  
"My bugs will help as well." Shino added.  
  
"Good! Let's go!" shouted Gai.  
  
"Let them work first, Gai." Kakashi snorted.  
  
"Look who's talking." Gai said watching Kakashi walk into nothing.  
  
"I'm following their energy levels." Kakashi said pointedly.  
  
"How can you tell the difference?" asked Gai demandingly.  
  
"One of the many techniques I picked up using the Sharingan eye and using my eyes and mind." Kakashi said proudly.  
  
Now it was Gai's turn to snort. "Whatever."  
  
~***~  
  
Out on the cliff, Aya stood her dark purple hair swinging in the wind, facing a boy with the same dark purple hair only it was short and spiked up, and his eye was as black as coal. He had his hitai-ate worn over one eye. He wore a blood red kimono shirt over a white shirt and red pants. He had a black sash tied around his waist and a katana sheath at his side. Aya's upturned collar hid her face, but with the look in her eyes anyone could tell she meant to kill.  
  
"So, after 8 years this is how you greet me Aya-chan?" asked the boy, Nago somewhat mockingly.  
  
"Don't you Aya-chan me! I came to kill you and I will." Aya replied venomously.  
  
"Aya, Aya, Aya, what am I going to do with you?" he asked shaking his head.  
  
"You will stand there so I may kill you." She answered, stone faced and determined.  
  
"Right." He said in a non-believing manner. "And what makes you think you can kill me? After all, I've killed an entire village with hardly any movement at all, as you probably remember. And to think, that was 8 years ago." He said thoughtfully.  
  
"Because I've improved and my will and determination are much stronger than yours." She said glaring at him.  
  
"Ay yes, will power. Such a wonderful thing, isn't it Aya-chan?" Nago asked smiling softly.  
  
"SHUT UP!!!" Aya shouted angrily.  
  
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, what would mother and father say if they heard you now?" Nago gasped comically. "Oh my, is Aya-chan being reminded of certain feelings?" Nago asked with his fake pout still on.  
  
"What would you know about feelings? You've never felt since the day you changed when you were 11! At least, you never felt when you killed mother and father, or when you pulled out Nagi's heart and crushed it before my very eyes. And you never felt when you left me there in the middle of the woods on a cold winter's night." Aya hissed.  
  
"Oh, I'm hurt. Nice to know you still remember though." Nago smiled happily.  
  
"Oi! You! Guy with the katana! What do you want with Aya?" came Kyoji's loud voice striking down the silence.  
  
"What interesting friends you have Aya-chan." Nago said pointedly.  
  
"At least I have friends." Aya mumbled to herself.  
  
"What was that?" seethed Nago while lifting up Aya by the collar of her jacket.  
  
"Oh. Did little Aya-chan finally hit a nerve? So the beast does feel. Hatred that is!" she spat in his face while smirking.  
  
"Bitch!" Nago shouted and tossed the smaller girl to the feet of her comrades.  
  
"Aya! Are you ok?" Neo asked in a soft voice.  
  
"I'm fine. Go away, I don't want you guys to get hurt." She whispered back.  
  
"Come now Aya, it will be fun to have an audience." Nago said back to his smug mood.  
  
"No, it won't." Aya said flatly just as the others arrived.  
  
"But they shall enjoy watching their friend get killed. Don't you think so, little sister dearest?" asked Nago looking smug.  
  
"LITTLE SISTER?!" Almost everybody shouted.  
  
Aya walked forward and turned back looking at the others. She then punched the ground and watched as the cliff separated itself from the rest of the mountain.  
  
"NO!" Koei shouted trying to grasp the cliff with his own ki but he couldn't quite get a grasp on it.  
  
Aya then turned to face Nago and explained. "There is a force field round us for some ways up and it will only go away if one of us dies or becomes too weak to fight. There is a positive ki holding us up right now and it too will fail if one of us dies or becomes too weak to fight. Ready older brother?" asked Aya standing still and watching her brothers' every move.  
  
"Ready when you are." He said assuming a fighting position.  
  
"NO! Aya I forbid it get down here the instant." Koei demanded desperately.  
  
Aya looked over her shoulder and gave Koei a 'just try and stop me' look and was then thrown towards the force field because Nago had swung the first punch. 


	2. It's Begun

Saving The Inner Self  
  
Chapter Two: It's Begun  
  
Hinata gasped and Kyoji made to lunge at the spit of land but Neo stopped him.  
  
"That wasn't fair!" shouted Naruto angrily. "You said when she was ready! And she wasn't ready!"  
  
"All's fair in love and war boy." Nago said in his all too calm manner.  
  
Just as he'd said the words, Aya threw herself at Nago elbowing him in the stomach and sending him flying towards the other end of their fighting arena.  
  
"Too true." Aya mumbled as she continued running towards him with her kunai ready to strike.  
  
"WHOO HOO!!! GO AYA!" Naruto shouted enthusiastically. "What?! She could use some encouragement." Naruto said pointedly when everyone stared at him.  
  
"You're going to ruin her concentration." Neji said simply.  
  
"Ya, ya, right, right." Naruto mumbled to himself.  
  
They all watched as Aya's true technique began to show. All her hard work had paid off to improve her stealth and speed, her strength and intellect. It was showing through now. The others watched as Aya kicked, punched and tossed weapons at Nago. But, no matter how good Aya was, Nago always seemed to be one step ahead of her.  
  
And Aya knew it. As she punched to his left, she anticipated that he would dodge to the right so she brought up her knee and hit him in the side. She smirked as Nago winced and fell onto one knee. Aya then back flipped away and landed cautiously with her legs spread and one hand on the ground.  
  
"Well, you're right, you're improved, but so have I." Nago said menacingly. And with that being said, he lunged at her.  
  
"TENSHI HANE!" Aya shouted making the seal for wings as she jumped and dodged his lunge. As she did, a pair of big bright wings exploded from her back and came out through the fabric. "Wind style! Fuyu Sempu Technique!" she shouted again and a cold, icy whirlwind started spinning in the middle of their tiny island.  
  
"Tenshi Hane!" Nago shouted copying Aya. His wings were black.  
  
"See? Even the advanced bloodline has rejected you Nago. Your wings have become black showing your true heart." Aya stated loftily.  
  
"Don't speak so soon dear sister. Even though my wings are black, I am still more powerful. Darkness is power!" and he lunged at her again this time striking her down in a flurry of feathers.  
  
As she fell backwards, Nago threw a kunai that hit her right in the stomach and she let out a cry of pain.  
  
"Now, now sister dearest, you know I won't kill you, yet." He added chuckling.  
  
Nago then kicked her in the stomach hitting the top of the kunai, wedging it in further. Nago pulled out his katana and as he was about to strike down on Aya, but she pulled the kunai out and, using her chakra, was able to extend it and send the katana flying. She then swung the katana-sized kunai at Nago again, hoping to slice his head off or something. But Nago gracefully dodged and grabbed his katana from the ground and forced it through Aya's stomach. Aya let out an agonized shout as Nago pulled the katana out. She then swung the kunai again and cut Nago across the chest.  
  
"Well, you're right about will power Aya-chan. If I were you I would have given up by now." Nago pointed out as she tried to stand again letting the crimson liquid drip freely from the hole in her stomach and felt as the some of the blood matter a few of her feathers.  
  
"This pain is nothing Nago. You know nothing of pain until you've lost everything. You've ruined my life once and I won't let you ruin it again. She said with her head down and her bangs covering her eyes. "Tomeku Style! Ketsueki Hane Kunai Masu Technique!" she shouted while throwing a blood stained feather at Nago, which quickly multiplied into thousands of feather daggers.  
  
"Sister dear, you missed." Nago said jumping out of the smoke.  
  
"Says you." Said a voice from behind him. Aya slammed her wings into his painfully and listened to him screech. She then flew around in front of him and punched him in the jaw and then used her ki to blast him into the shocking force field. As he pushed off the force field, flying at her quickly, she drew the over-sized kunai out of nowhere and slashed one of his wings.  
  
"Bitch!" Nago shouted and elbowed her in the back of the head, knocking her unconscious.  
  
As she fell lifelessly to the ground, the land started to wobble and the force field disappeared.  
  
"No!" Koei shouted and lifted his arms into the air using his ki to pull the tiny cliff towards them. "Kyoji hurry!" he shouted as the land touched the cliff's edge.  
  
Kyoji used a seal of some sort to connect the two pieces of land and made them stable. As soon as it was stable, Neo, Naruto, Kyoji and Koei ran onto it only to be angered at the sight of Nago picking up Aya and walking towards them.  
  
"If you'll excuse me, I'll be taking this." He said only identifying his sister as 'this'.  
  
"No, you are not excused. Give her back!" Kyoji shouted angrily.  
  
"Since when is she yours? I'm her rightful family so she belongs to me." Nago said flatly.  
  
"No, there are laws against abuse." Kakashi added.  
  
"No one asked you old man!" Nago spat and smirked as Kakashi's veins started popping out.  
  
"Old man?" Kakashi asked insanely. "I'll show you old man you little brat!!!" Kakashi shouted and tried to pull against Kurenai, Asuma and Gai.  
  
Suddenly, out of nowhere, Aya awoke and stabbed a normal kunai into the middle of Nago's chest. Unfortunately she was too weak to do any real damage. But as Nago stumbled backwards, he threw Aya onto the ground and vanished in a puff of smoke.  
  
"Damn bastard." Aya breathed heavily.  
  
"Aya! Are you alright?" Neo asked softly.  
  
"Hmph." She grunted trying to pull herself up. When she finally got herself to stand, she took about 2 steps before falling over involuntarily. "Damn legs, damn earth, damn brother." She muttered trying to pull herself up again. When she failed to get up she rolled onto her back and looked directly at Koei's orange eyes and began to mumble. "The battle of the Tomeku's is here, all that are not of the clan beware. The planets destruction relies on one, run until the battle is done." She whispered softly. "It's begun." She said quietly before passing out.  
  
"Grab her and bring her back to the hut." Koei commanded Neo and Kyoji. "If we don't get the blood to stop flowing, she'll die. Come Konoha ninja." He said addressing the others.  
  
~***~  
  
Aya had been laid down in her bed and re-dressed and bandaged by the girls, Kurenai, Sakura, Ino, Hinata and Tenten. After that, everybody sort of went about doing his or her own thing. The hut was actually more like a mansion because it had many rooms and was generally just a large amount of space.  
  
"Please, stay with us ninja friends, choose your rooms, you may have to share. Stay with us and we can all train together and attain other strategies with each other." Koei offered generously.  
  
"I would like to see your teaching techniques." Shino answered in his monotone voice.  
  
The others gladly accepted and made to their stuff from outside, only to find it was already in the main hall. Gai and Kakashi shared a room and Asuma had his own because no one wanted to share a room with Asuma and his cigarette smoke. Kurenai shared a room with Hinata, Ino and Sakura shared a room, Choji and Shikamaru shared a room, Neji and Lee shared a room, Naruto and Kiba (and Akamaru) shared a room, and everyone else had their own rooms.  
  
"Well, today, you may explore he hut and get to know where everything is. I advise that you don't go alone because this place is huge and it's easy to get lost. Tomorrow, Kurenai will train the girls, I will train the boys and Kakashi, Gai and Asuma may go scout the land if they wish. Clear?" Koei asked as he looked at everyone expectantly.  
  
"Understood Master Koei." Was the monotonous reply. A few people though, said "Crystal."  
  
Koei nodded and turned to go check on Aya,  
  
"Oh and Master Koei?" asked Sakura.  
  
"Yes?" he asked in slight confusion.  
  
"What did Aya mean when she said that the battle of the Tomeku's is here?"  
  
"I don't know..." he replied while trailing off distantly.  
  
"Oh, ok." Sakura whispered while nodding her head.  
  
"Any more questions?" Koei demanded.  
  
"What is Aya's advanced bloodline?" came Sasuke's stone like voice.  
  
"Her telepathy, telekinesis and her Angel Wings. Anything else?" He asked sounding irritated. Nobody said anything. "Alright then, dinner will be at 6:30 sharp and if you're not in the dining room by then, the doors to the kitchen and the dining room get locked. Understood?"  
  
"Understood." Came the, once again, monotonous reply.  
  
Koei nodded and left swiftly.  
  
The others then split off into groups as was advised. Sakura, Hinata, Ino and Tenten headed out and found the lounge area and games rooms. Shino, Neji, Lee, Naruto and Kiba found several training rooms and fighting arenas. Shikamaru and Choji found washrooms and the library on their way to the kitchen. Kakashi and Gai spent most of the time insulting or trying to out do each other, Asuma went outside to smoke and Kurenai was fixing up her and Hinata's room.  
  
~***~  
  
"I wonder why this place is called 'the hut'? It's so big!" Ino exclaimed as she flopped down into one of the couches.  
  
"You tell me Ino-pig. After all you claim to be so smart." Sakura said with sarcasm dripping off ever syllable as she too flopped into another couch.  
  
"W-w-why d-d-didn't you ask M-master Koei?" asked Hinata timidly.  
  
"Well, he didn't seem to be in the best mood at the time." Ino said looking thoughtful.  
  
"Ah, I-I-I see." Hinata smiled.  
  
"Hey Hinata? How hard is Kurenai?" asked Tenten curiously.  
  
"S-she's pretty tough, but she said I-I won't be t-t-training with you tomorrow. Kurenai-sensei says that I-I'm too strong f-for you a-and they n-need someone t-to look over A-A-Aya-san." Hinata replied softly.  
  
"Oh. Ok, ya that's probably a good idea." Sakura whispered mostly to herself.  
  
"Hmm...Ya, I bet you would probably surpass us with your byakugan and everything." Tenten spoke up after a few minutes of thought.  
  
"Y-you s-shouldn't think like that! I-I-I'm sure that you will be a-a- able to s-surpass the byakugan s-s-someday. Just like N-Naruto-kun." Hinata stuttered encouragingly.  
  
"Hmm, maybe you're right Hinata, after all, Naruto beat Neji and his byakugan." Sakura echoed.  
  
"Ya, well, I think we should start looking for the dining room. I don't want to miss dinner, I've been on a diet and haven't eaten much since lunch." Ino said seeming annoyed.  
  
"That's probably a good idea...looking for the dining room that is." Tenten said getting up slowly while stretching.  
  
"Let's go!" Sakura shouted smiling.  
  
"I thought that was Naruto's line." Ino said raising an eyebrow.  
  
"Ya well, Naruto's not here is he?" Sakura retorted sticking her tongue out at Ino.  
  
"Shut up." Ino said walking away.  
  
~***~  
  
Koei sat in Aya's room with Neo and Kyoji standing behind him.  
  
"What should we do about Aya?" Kyoji asked quietly.  
  
"Yes, is she alright?" Neo asked worried.  
  
"Her health is improving, she will be fine, but her pride is greatly damaged and she will be thirsty for revenge. We'll have to keep an eye on her when she wakes up and becomes well enough to walk." Koei said with his hands in a praying position.  
  
"Right." The two said in unison.  
  
"Master Koei, can we trust the Hyuga to look after Aya while we train?" asked Kyoji looking a little angry.  
  
"Yes we can trust Hinata-san. Perhaps, because she is a girl with a kind heart, Aya will show Hinata her life." Koei said nodding and standing up.  
  
"Ok, let me get this straight. You think, that Aya will trust this Hinata girl, because she's a girl?" Kyoji asked curiously.  
  
"Well, we are guys after all." Neo said smiling.  
  
"Too true." Said a voice behind the boys.  
  
"Ahhh, Onami, Amara, Kiara, and Umi. We welcome you back." Koei said bowing a little.  
  
"We're glad to be back." Said the woman, Onami bowing her head a little. She had long black hair tied into a low ponytail that touched her butt. Her eyes were an even darker black. She wore a red, sleeveless shirt under a black, one sleeved, fishnet shirt. Her pants were tight fitting, long and black under a short red skirt. Her disciples followed her lead.  
  
"What have you done to Aya-chan?" asked the youngest looking girl named Umi. She had waist length, green-blue, flowing hair that was tied up in a high ponytail using her hitai-ate. Her eyes were a dark concerned blue. She wore a shirt like Sakura's with the front and back hanging down to about her knees. The main colour was dark blue with sea green trimmings. Her capris were light blue and her left upper arm was wrapped in bandages.  
  
"Better not call her that when she wakes up or she might try to kill you." Kyoji said in a tone that was dead serious but at the same time mocking.  
  
"Why? Have you finally driven Aya to the edge?" asked the oldest looking on, Amara. She had short, ear length, sandy blonde hair and cunning blue eyes. She wore a black, traditional, ninja outfit that consisted of a kimono like shirt and pants. The collar of her shirt was semi-high covering most of her mouth. She wore a yellow belt tied around her waist to close her shirt. Just below her knees, he legs were wrapped with bandages to stop any excess cloth from tripping her. She had a tight black, snake-patterned, long-sleeved, shirt underneath her kimono shirt. On her back, was a sheathed katana that was strapped on with a thin, almost invisible, piece of string. Her hitai-ate was around her forehead and had a trailing tail of cloth from her hitai-ate. She looked, without a doubt, like the most deadly out of them all.  
  
"This is no laughing matter I'm afraid. Aya was attacked by her older brother, Nago." Koei said looking at the unconscious girl.  
  
"Well, it was more like she challenged him and lost." Kyoji said shrugging.  
  
"Oh Aya, what have you gotten yourself into this time?" whispered the last girl, Kiara. Her hair was light brown streaked with blonde and her eyes were a warm brown. She wore her hair tied up in a bun and wrapped in cloth with only the bangs that framed her face left out of the bun. Her bangs were shoulder length and quite straight. She wore a brown T-shirt with white, brown trimmed, arm warmers loosely hanging off her forearms. Her pants were also brown, they were not tight, but not loose, capris. She wore beige, brown trimmed leg warmers to match her arms.  
  
"Well, we think her brother wants her for some diabolical plan to take over the world." Kyoji said looking darkly at all of them.  
  
"No, that's what you think." Neo said rolling his eyes. The tense atmosphere became much more casual.  
  
"Well I think you girls should go snag any rooms that are left and then head to the dining room to meet everyone else." Koei said taking his leave. "You may stay with her after dinner." He added as he left.  
  
The others left following their teacher.  
  
"Come on girls. Let's get going and see how many rooms are left." Onami said after giving Aya a pitiful glance.  
  
~***~  
  
Introductions were made and dinner was eaten in peace, except for the occasional insult thrown across the room by Sakura, Ino, Kiba or Naruto. The atmosphere was a bit tense but everybody seemed to be fine. Everyone had their guard up anyway.  
  
After dinner, everyone sat in the lounge and chatted loftily before saying their good nights and heading to bed. 


	3. Dream Worlds and Nightmares

Saving The Inner Self  
  
Chapter Three: Dream Worlds and Nightmares  
  
The next morning, everybody got up, ate breakfast and broke off into two groups for training. The boys went with Koei and the girls went with Onami. Onami decided to give Kurenai a break and offered to take the other girls. Kurenai agreed, but only after much persuasion and headed off to take a nap. As everyone left, Hinata waved good-bye smiling.  
  
~***~  
  
"Alright boys! Take two laps around the forest, running of course. The lap includes the beach; you will be running along the beach and then turn off back around the forest. Ok?" he asked smiling.  
  
"No! We'll die!!!" shouted Choji while waving his arms in the air hysterically.  
  
"Smart boy! What's your name?" he asked laughing.  
  
"Choji Akimichi." He answered looking confused.  
  
"Heh, you're right Choji, you'd probably pass out so you get 4 rest stops, 2 for each laps. The faster you get to the rest stop, the longer you get to rest. The last person to the rest stop only gets a 3-minute break. I'll run ahead to the rest stop and find everything. If you can keep up with me then you'll get to rest longer. Ready? Ok. Start when I leave." He said smiling still.  
  
"If you want a tip, by focusing all the chakra into your feet, you tire less than you would if you were just plain running, though you do use up chakra, you go faster." Neo said looking at them all in a friendly manner.  
  
"Let's go." Kyoji growled as he watched his teacher leave.  
  
Neo nodded and put his hands together focusing his chakra into the soles of his feet. His eyes quickly snapped open and he was off like a bullet. The others followed his demonstration.  
  
By the time they got to the rest station, most of the people were half-dead. Neo and Kyoji admitted they were breathing heavy, but everyone else was lying around trying to calm their breathing. The only ones that were still standing were Shino, Neji, Kyoji and Neo, but they were still breathing heavily.  
  
"Oh man!" Naruto said when he'd recovered a bit. "I hate this! And Choji cheated! He turned into that ball thing!" he said pointing at Choji accusingly.  
  
"That's not cheating. That's using your abilities to their full potential and finishing no matter what." Koei said while sitting on a stump and sipping his water. "In any case, you all did better than I expected. Maybe tomorrow, if you stay here, we'll time you." He said smiling, again.  
  
Everyone's mouths dropped.  
  
"Are you kidding?! We'll die!" Kiba shouted in protest.  
  
"Arf!" Akamaru seemed to agree.  
  
"It's really not that hard. We just need to train your lungs and maybe work on your chakra control a little more. Which we will do after lunch, by swimming, I hope you can all swim. If you can't, learn fast." Koei said before taking off again.  
  
"Oh joy. Here we go again." Kyoji said his voice dripping with sarcasm. He focused again and he too was off.  
  
Everyone else was running as well, seeing that they had regained their breath. This continued 3 more times before they started heading back to the hut hanging off one another.  
  
~***~  
  
Hinata went back into Aya's room and watched her. She looked content but in mental pain. Something was drawing Hinata to her, she was now on her knees, reaching for Aya's hand. As soon as she touched it, there was a flash of white light and...  
  
...She was in a big white room. The first thing she noticed was the master bed, it was huge with light drapes hanging down the sides. The second thing she noticed were two large windows, one displaying a happy with a blue, and the other was dark with thundering rain clouds. Then she noticed Aya, standing by the happy window and looking outside.  
  
"So you're the one that has a kind enough heart to enter my realm? Interesting... what's your name?" Aya asked while turning and looking over at Hinata.  
  
"Hyuga Hinata." She said timidly.  
  
"Shy aren't you?" Hinata nodded. "Well, come look at these two contrasting pictures." She said while holding out her hand for Hinata to take.  
  
Hinata walked over while taking Aya's hand and looked out the window.  
  
"I'm Inner Aya, the real Aya. The one on the outside is just a mask; another put there to hide the true self. You are here, in my memories, my mind. I like to call this place, time heart. This is my dream room, my dream world. Now look here, this is the Aya that might have been if Nago hadn't destroyed her village and well, did the other stuff to her." They looked out at a happy Aya playing in the field then running back to her parents.  
  
"And here..." She said leading Hinata to another window. "Is the Aya that would be if she hadn't met up with Neo, Kyoji and Koei." The Aya there was dark and angry. She picked up a man and squeezed his neck until it exploded sending blood splattering everywhere. She walked on and shot an energy blast at a small house completely destroying it. Hinata gasped. "If everything had happened this way, she would have destroyed everyone until it was just her and Nago, then there would be one last battle. Between Nago and Aya, Aya would probably win, and then she'd destroy the earth and die in the process and that would be the end of humanity, as we know it.  
  
But that never happened did it? No, this is what happened." She said leading Hinata to a window that she hadn't noticed. "This is the Aya that be, the one everybody else knows. She sits there reminiscing on how to kill Nago, after she kills Nago though, she doesn't know what she will do, and may even try to kill herself. Which means good-bye for all of us." Inner Aya said her face never flinching once. They watched the Outer Aya sit there and watched as the air around her changed considerably. It darkened and Nago appeared in a puff of smoke, she kicked him and stabbed him and his illusion disappeared. Then Neo and Kyoji came over and lifter her off the ground carrying her over to their teacher. When they all fell down they started laughing, even Aya was laughing. "This is how things should be. But after what happened recently, Outer Aya might change. I can't say though, I don't control Outer Aya; I am only Inner Aya, waiting to be shown to the world. But this is not what I wanted to show you. Follow me."  
  
Hinata followed slightly reluctant. They walked down a giant staircase that wound down into the main hall. Then they walked over to a big black door. "This leads to the basement of memories, my hatred, all these things are locked away but not forgotten. Follow me down." She said hanging onto Hinata's hand; she led the smaller girl down into the depths of darkness. "Try to move as little as possible, but down talk, just watch." Hinata nodded.  
  
All of a sudden, an image appeared. It was Aya at the age of 4. She was sitting on the ground crying.  
  
"Oh Aya-chan. I told you to put your shoes on." Said a 9 year old Nago. "Let me help you." He took a bandage and wrapped it around her foot. This Nago looked much like Shino to Hinata. He had the same looking coat and hair and he had a hitai-ate with an odd symbol on it. The symbol looked like a crescent moon with vines on either side. Hinata didn't understand the symbol but asked no questions.  
  
"I wanted to go pick some flowers for grandma!" said the younger Aya. "But my foot got hurt when I stepped on a stick." She sniffled.  
  
"Just where your shoes next time, ok? How 'bout I carry you to go get those flowers?" Nago asked smiling.  
  
"Ya! Thank you Nagi-niisan!" She said huggin him. Hinata looked confused. 'Nagi?'  
  
'Nagi' laughed and picked up the little Aya and carried her on his shoulders. The two walked off disappearing in a flurry of cherry blossom petals. But, standing behind one of the trees, was what looked like, another Nago.  
  
There was pitch black for a minute but Inner Aya kept watching so Hinata did as well. The next image was of the two Nago's leaving what looked like a large mansion.  
  
"Bye Nago-niisan! Bye Nagi-niisan! Bye! See you after your ninja school!" A 5 year old Aya shouted waving and smiling.  
  
"Bye Aya-chan!" The two 10 year old's chorused.  
  
Aya giggled and watched them leave. She kept waving until they were gone over the hill. There was a flash of light and the image changed again. This time it was not so happy.  
  
"Nago what are you doing?!" shouted an 11 year old Nagi with blood dripping from his mouth.  
  
"Displaying my power. See? I am stronger than you Nagi my twin! I am!" he shouted laughing insanely.  
  
"Nago-niisan!!! What are you doing?" cried the 6 year old Aya as she hid behind Nagi.  
  
"Oh Aya-chan, do you not know power when you see it?" Nago asked softly.  
  
"Nago this is insane, stop it now." Nagi said stepping forward.  
  
Nago gave Nagi a look that said 'you're kidding me' and then stabbed his hand through Nagi's chest and brought out his heart still beating slowly. He then crushed it splattering blood everywhere. Aya screamed and felt hot tears pouring down her cheeks. She then fell to her knees where her older brothers' dead body lay.  
  
"Nagi?! Nagi wake up!" she shouted shaking his body.  
  
"Nagi's gone Aya-chan." Nago said coming up behind her.  
  
"No! Why did you do that?!" she sobbed. Hinata felt tears running down her own cheeks as well but made no movement to wipe them away.  
  
"He had it coming. And he would not listen to me." Nago said bending down and pulling little Aya towards him. "I love you Aya-chan. I did not mean to do that. Please help me. You are all I have left." Aya sobbed into his kimono shirt but he could tell she nodded. "Come on, Nago-niisan will carry you." He said bringing her with him. Hinata wanted to yell at the little Aya not to go with him but she couldn't talk as she remembered, so she just watched in pain. The two left out the door and as the door shut behind them, it was once again pitch black.  
  
Next they were in a forest and it was snowing.  
  
"Nago-niisan? Where are we going?" asked the little Aya shivering.  
  
"Don't worry, you'll be warm soon." He said looking ahead through the snow storm.  
  
They soon came to a hut and inside was a man. A grubby looking drunkard with messy brown hair and angry red eyes was inside waiting for them.  
  
"Mr. Kawada, this is my baby sister, Aya-chan. Aya-chan, Mr. Kawada." Nago said quickly. "I'll be back in a bit." He said leaving. "Be good for Mr. Kawada, do whatever he says." Nago said softly into Aya's ear. Aya nodded obediently. Then Nago left.  
  
"So, you're the boys little sister. Lovely little thing." He said smiling.  
  
"Thank you Mr. Kawada sir." She said politely.  
  
"Come here." He said and as soon as she was in his grasp he started taking off her clothes. Aya tried to scream but Mr. Kawada sent a bruising kiss to her lips.  
  
Hinata watched in horror as the man raped the little 6-year-old girl. Then Nago got back.  
  
"What have you done?!" He boomed loudly as Aya ran to him crying.  
  
"Yes, I did that. She wasn't bad. She still needs some breaking in." He chuckled but his little laughter was cut short because Nago had shot him through the heart with an energy laser.  
  
"I'm so sorry Aya-chan." Nago said hugging her close.  
  
'Ya right. Hinata thought bitterly.  
  
"Nago he hurt me!" she cried loudly.  
  
"I know, I know, I'm so sorry." He said while stroking her hair tenderly.  
  
The scene disappeared in a gust of snow. Hinata shivered and hugged herself with one hand while shielding her eyes with the other. As the snow brushed away and Hinata stopped shielding her eyes, they watched the last scene Inner Aya would show her.  
  
"Nago-niisan? What are you doing?" Aya asked softly.  
  
"Aya-chan. I want you to stay here. I will be back to get you. If I'm not back, try to find someone to help you ok?" he asked stiffly.  
  
"Yes Nago-niisan, but you will be back right?" She asked pleadingly.  
  
"Yes I will be back unless I die. If I die you will know, ok?" he asked sternly.  
  
"No! You can't die. Nago-niisan don't leave me!" she shouted but Nago was already starting to leave. "Nago-niisan!!! You said I was all you had left! So why are you leaving?!" she shouted and began chasing him even after he jumped into the trees. She kept chasing him until she tripped over a stump and lost track of him. "Don't leave me..." she whispered and the tears came back.  
  
Inner Aya took Hinata's hand and gently guided her out of the basement. When they were back in the great hall, Hinata started crying again.  
  
"I'm s-s-sorry." She stuttered through her tears. "Y-you must t-t- think I-I-I'm a c-cry baby be-c-cause y-you haven-n't s-s-shed a t-tear and h-here I-I am c-crying enough f-f-for both of-f us." She sniffed.  
  
"No, it's ok. I expected you to break down much sooner actually. You are much stronger than I thought. The only reason I don't cry is because I have seen those memories enough to stop me from crying. But Outer Aya would cry at these memories. Hinata?" she asked holding the smaller girls' hands in her own. "Will you be my friends?" she asked softly.  
  
"Of course!" Hinata said hugging Aya. At first, the hug caught Aya off guard. Then she hugged Hinata back.  
  
"Thank you for that." Aya said wiping away a small tear. "It has been so long since I have actually hugged someone. And the last time I did, it wasn't a real hug. Now Hinata, do not tell anyone about this. Only people you are sure that you can trust not to tell." She said with a pleading look in her eyes. "Please?"  
  
"Of course." Hinata said hugging Aya again. "I'm glad you showed me this. I think I have gained more courage. Watching these memories has brought a new light to my blinded eyes. You, you stand here in this large plain mansion, all alone, watching what could happen, what should happen, and what might happen. Everyday, just watching, never doing. I promise I will help Outer Aya release you. I will be strong for you and I'll try not to be weak. But I promise to help you get out of here. I promise." Hinata said softly into Aya's hair.  
  
"Thank you Hinata-san. Thank you so much." Aya said letting the tears of happiness flow freely. "That is the best thing anyone could ever give me. Just the promise of being free brings my spirit up. Now go out the main doors and you will walk back into your consciousness; people are trying to wake you up." Aya said waving.  
  
"I promise." Hinata whispered as she stepped out the door and turned to take one last look at the Inner Aya, but she felt a light grab her and she felt herself being thrown somewhere. She couldn't see and suddenly...  
  
... She opened her eyes slowly to find everyone around her, staring at her.  
  
"Oh hello. I must have fallen asleep." Hinata said wiping her eyes. She had cried in her real body as she had cried in her Inner body. She looked at them all smiling. There was something different about her voice. There was no stutter, she was more confident and she could feel it. Hinata looked down and noticed she was still holding Aya's hand. "I promise." She whispered softly, and as soon as she did, she was sure she felt Aya squeeze her hand in return.  
  
"Hinata? Are you ok?" asked Sakura snapping her out of her trance.  
  
"Yes I am fine Sakura-san. How are you?" she asked smiling and letting go of Aya's hand. "With the training of course. Oh! I was going to make you all lunch and then I drifted off. I'll go get lunch ready now." She said smiling and leaving them all staring at the air she'd just a minute ago, occupied.  
  
"Hinata-------------a!" Sakura shouted.  
  
"Yes!" she shouted back.  
  
"What have you done with Hinata? Hinata doesn't sound like that! Hinata stutters!" Ino shouted.  
  
"Hinata has changed and made a promise to a dear friend. Hinata mustn't be weak, she must be strong for her friend." Hinata said after a clang of dishes were heard. Minutes later they heard water boiling and the smell of ramen and dumplings were drifting through the air.  
  
~***~  
  
"Aya's shown her." Kyoji said leaning against the wall.  
  
"Indeed." Neo murmured.  
  
"Then Koei was right, it's because the Hyuga's a girl." Kyoji said sounding irritated.  
  
"Maybe. But she is a kind girl as well." Neo said smiling.  
  
"Whatever." Kyoji snorted.  
  
"Let's go eat, we can worry about this later." Neo said walking off. Kyoji followed a few minutes later. 


End file.
